Saviour
by Under A Cloud
Summary: In an expedition to rescue the survivors of a failed scout operation, Levi saved the traumatized sole survivor of the mission squad who was left with amnesia. Because of that, mankind's best soldier is now tasked by his superiors to nurse his nemesis back to health. Even Levi Ackerman finds some things challenging. (Tentatively LevixOC)
1. Prologue

A rather slow-paced story and there **might or might not** be a pairing. For now, let's assume that there'd be LevixOC.

Summary: In an expedition to rescue the survivors of a failed scout operation, Levi saved the traumatized sole survivor of the mission squad who was left with amnesia. Because of that, mankind's best soldier is now tasked by his superiors to nurse his nemesis back to health. Even Levi Ackerman finds some things challenging. (Tentatively LevixOC)

Disclaimer: I don't own Attack on Titan.

**Saviour**

* * *

**Prologue**

* * *

"Ahhhhh, I can't believe that we're given so little ration for this mission!" Sasha held up the 'meagre' amount of food she was allocated and whined incessantly, "How are we going to fight if we don't replenish our energy?"

"Be glad that you're even getting anything at all, the monarchy isn't exactly fond of us Recons Corps at the moment," Connie quipped back, golden eyes cautiously scanning the area as they drew near to their destination.

"Blouse, Springer, concentrate on your surroundings," Levi's indifferent voice came from upfront, "Titans might be in the vicinity. Any unnecessary combat must be avoided."

"Yes, captain!" Sasha and Connie saluted and replied in unison.

The rest of the journey proceeded in silence, aside from the sound of the galloping horses and their hooves kicking against the ground. With Sasha's intuition, Levi's squad was able to avoid two 7m-class and three 3m-class before the abyssal creatures got close enough to sense that humans were within their territory. Soon, the squad arrived at an abandoned, horribly deformed cottage which was splattered with blood all over and corpses were hanging off the nearby trees like some perverse Halloween decoration.

In the one o'clock direction, a man's corpse was dangling from the branch. His spine was obviously snapped from the strange angle of his hips, and his shirt was soaked with blood front and back.

In the three o'clock direction, a woman's corpse lied beneath a large oak tree. Her skull was cracked and gooey substance was oozing out from the top of her head, where a nest of maggots has already found home in her revealed brains matter.

Sasha swallowed the partially digested food rising to her throat. No matter how many times she saw the remains of her comrades who fought against the Titans, she didn't think she'd ever get used to it.

In the seven o'clock direction, another two lied there.

In the nine o'clock direction, in the eleven o'clock direction…

Levi's squad was in unanimous silence; yet another squad that has sacrificed their lives in hope of bringing humanity a step closer to freedom.

Wordlessly, they saluted to the deceased. May they soar on the wings of freedom they have dedicated their lives to.

"Kirstein, Springer, Reiss, count and identify the corpses. Do _not _touch their bodies," Levi ordered and leapt off his horse, walking directly towards the ruins of the cottage, "Jaeger, Ackerman, Blouse, scout the area and search for survivors."

"Yes, captain!"

_Filthy._ Levi grimaced as he dug around the rubble for sign of life. Just as he finished moving the stones in one corner, Connie reported back to him.

"Captain, a total of 11 bodies had been discovered and there's no sight of Squad Leader Strauss, John Sparks and Ron March yet."

Which meant that there was a possibility that they were still alive. As for the unnamed, no more needed to be said.

Levi nodded, "fall back, I'll be in charge of the debris."

"Captain, please allow us to help too!" Historia walked up and pleaded with Levi.

Levi briefly glanced at the three before turning his attention back to the debris, "Kirstein, Springer and Reiss, go into the woods to reinforce Jaeger, Ackerman and Blouse. Avoid all unnecessary combat and stray no further than half a mile from this area. Should there be a sudden situation, fire a smoke signal." Levi laid his orders with a still expression.

_Right._ Rather than searching the ruins, the greater concern was their comrades who were in the woods. They could quite possibly come into contact with those monstrous creatures anytime.

"Yes, captain!" The three quickly saluted and made their way into the forests.

Now left alone, Levi continued his task on hand.

_Nothing, nothing, nothing…_

Oh? What's this?

After covering the perimeter of the cottage and spotting no sign of life, Levi finally uncovered a piece of soiled fabric. There must be at least one person here. Following the trail, Levi eventually saw a bruised hand peeking out from beneath a pile of fallen woods.

Effortlessly moving the woods away, at last Levi saw the woman who lied immobile beneath.

Fiona Strauss. The leader of this operation. Whilst he hadn't been on good terms with her back within the walls, Levi didn't celebrate her death now that her body was before him.

They were both soldiers, and she was someone whom Levi respected as a comrade despite their different beliefs.

Levi knelt down and got a closer look at the chocolate brown-haired woman.

Then, a flick of surprise gleamed through his eyes.

Brows furrowed, Levi reached out a hand and placed a finger beneath her nose. His breathing paused momentarily when he felt the moist, albeit faint air being exhaled which was proof that this woman was… alive.

"Hmm… you're truly blessed," Levi muttered, no longer sympathetic of her now that he knew that she wasn't dead yet. Lucky wasn't sufficient to describe her anymore.

Quite frankly, Commander Erwin didn't pitch much hope on this rescue mission. If it wasn't for the value of the information the scouts were supposed to bring back, Levi's squad wouldn't have been sent on what seemed to the other military branches a foolish, unnecessary mission.

Unhesitatingly, Levi bent forward and picked her up bridal style. His nose scrunched up in disgust when his hands came into contact with the dirt her clothes were caked with. But for the sake of the mission, Levi told himself to bear with it.

With the unconscious woman in his arms, Levi turned around and carried her back to where their horses were left.

**~x~**

"When will she wake up, Dr Richard?"

"Don't worry about it, Commander Erwin. Squad Leader Strauss would wake up within these two days. Have patience."

"You and your staffs have always been very reliable, I thank you for your hard work, Dr Richard."

"It's my pleasure to be working for the Recons Corps, Commander Erwin."

The end of the conversation was accompanied by a series of shuffling motion as the noise ceased to be.

_How noisy._

That was the first thought in Fiona's mind when she finally stirred in her sleep, her eyelids felt like they weighed a thousand tons and she found much difficulty in opening her eyes.

When her purple irises were finally revealed and her groggy vision cleared up after a few difficult blinks, she immediately saw a man leaning by the door, whose sharp grey eyes were fixated on her.

How... terrifying. Fiona shivered involuntarily.

"You're awake," he stated, voice cold like she had expected; his face was bereft of any expression to indicate his current state of emotions. "Took you long enough."

Still stuck in a daze, Fiona blinked again before she asked meekly, "Ano… who are you?"

* * *

There are lots of things that'd be explored in this story so romance isn't the primary element, and whether they'd end up together in the end is a question I have yet to figure out. Please remember to leave your feedback behind!


	2. I

**Saviour**

* * *

**I**

* * *

Two weeks ago, Fiona Strauss and her squad were sent to scout around a cottage which was presumed to be an abandoned base of the Titan Shifters. Because the painful experience of the Titan Shifters who infiltrated their ranks still looms, only the select few at the core of the Central Authority were privy to this secret operation.

However, when Fiona's squad failed to return by the planned date and no messenger was sent back to the capital, the Central Authority knew that something had went wrong.

This led to an urgent meeting amongst the most powerful figures in the Central Authority. A unanimous bill was soon passed for a squad to be sent to the missing squad's aid, for the information Fiona and her squad were meant to bring back was much too valuable to humanity.

After the secret meeting, Commander Erwin held another meeting within the Survey Corps and declared Fiona's squad to be missing in action, after which he announced that a squad will be dispatched to search for them.

Back then during the meeting, Levi was rather disinterested in the whole affair. He had expected himself to be Commander Erwin's last option on the list; after all, it was no secret in the Recons Corps that Levi Ackerman and Fiona Strauss shared an unfriendly relationship. So should she still be alive, there was little doubt that she wouldn't be pleased to be rescued by the one she deemed her nemesis.

Yet somehow, by the magical hand of Fate, Levi was chosen amidst all his fellow men.

Being a soldier, Levi had complete trust in Commander Erwin and his decisions. So even though he was mildly surprised that the task fell on him of all people, Levi obeyed his superiors with no questions asked.

It was to his luck (or hers) that he managed to retrieve an alive Fiona Strauss, but to everyone's shock that woman suffered from post-trauma amnesia. For the past three days, the Recons Corps had been in a state of chaos. However for Levi, that wasn't of his concern anymore. His job was done; the rest was up to his superiors.

Once again, the power figures of the Central Authority were called together for another emergency meeting which lasted into the night. After the meeting was adjourned, the first thing Commander Erwin did was to arrange a series of check-up for Fiona and when the report revealed that there was "a possibility of recovery", Levi was summoned once again.

Upon exiting from Commander Erwin's office, Levi was at the brink of cutting up everything in sight with his swords.

Levi was displeased, _severely_ displeased.

_This was getting out of hands._ First he was babysitting Eren Jaeger, and later Historia Reiss, and now even Fiona Strauss was being placed in his custody. What did the Central Authority think of him as, a professional babysitter outside of the Recons Corps?

… _Tch_. _Whatever_. Levi let out a silent, irritated sigh. Now that the order was sent down, there was no avoiding the woman who was now his responsibility. With an apathetic expression on his face, Levi strode down the corridors and headed over to collect the new resident of the ex-Recons Corps Headquarter.

**~x~**

Fiona was extremely confused. She woke up in a foreign environment filled with strangers, and she herself had no memory of her past. Everything seemed so exotic and so… unfamiliar to her. Even her name and identity were imparted to her by the people who tended to her, for she didn't even recall her personal particulars herself.

They told her that she was Fiona Strauss, a squad leader of the Recons Corps under the lead of Commander Erwin. They said that she was a hero who has dedicated herself to liberalizing humanity, and the crest imprinted on her shoulders was the mark of her honour. _Wings of freedom_, they called it. If that was true, why did everything feel so alien to her? Her name, her identity and this world… everything seemed so surreal. They told her that she was extremely passionate about freeing mankind from the terror of monsters known as Titans, yet when she heard about the creatures she allegedly despised, Fiona was completely unmoved.

Was it truly her they were talking about? Why did everything feel like another person's story? Fiona shook her head; her brains felt like scrambled eggs.

_Click._ The door was opened.

Turning around, Fiona saw the very man whom she saw upon waking up. As per the last time they met, his chilling gaze made her shiver involuntarily again.

"Ah… hello," Fiona murmured quietly, voice sounding rather strained.

Levi merely stood there, motionless. He didn't return her greeting; instead, he studied her through his piercing grey eyes, gauging her like he was appraising a piece of specimen.

Fiona felt severely unnerved by his sharp gaze. Just before her nervous system broke down and malfunctioned, Levi averted his eyes.

"Pack up, you're leaving."

"Eh?" Fiona blinked, perturbed by the sudden change in events. Annoyance flashed across Levi's face.

"I told you to pack up. Don't make me repeat myself a third time," said Levi darkly, "you have half an hour. I will come back to collect you later. Whether you're done packing your stuff or not, you're leaving once I arrive. I suggest you get to your feet now."

After saying that, Levi turned around and left.

… _What just happened? _

Despite the confusion she was thrown into, Fiona figured that it'd be better for her if she obeyed that man's orders. Standing up from the bed, Fiona scanned the room and sat down once more; a forlorn expression emerged on her face.

In this room which she had resided in for the past three days… There was nothing to call her own aside from herself.

**~x~**

Despite her loss of memory, Fiona Strauss never failed to test the limit of Levi's patience.

"For the last time, get up on the horse," Levi suppressed an irate sigh when Fiona refused to mount the horse even on his umpteenth order. His patience was wearing dangerously thin.

Was this woman really Fiona Strauss? He didn't recall her to be equinophobic.

While Fiona was deathly afraid of Levi, she was surprisingly stubborn in her stance on this particular issue. "No, I don't want to," Fiona adamantly shook her head, "I, I'm afraid..." Her voice was a feeble squeak.

The tall black stallion seemed rather hostile towards her. He was exhaling strongly through his nose and peering at her through stormy eyes – if he were a man, Fiona had little doubt that he'd be looking down on her now.

"… Get up. Now. Do _not_ test my patience," Levi's eyes narrowed threateningly.

"I can't!" Fiona balled her fists and marginally raised the volume of her voice, "please, don't make me ride a horse – or if I must, please let me ride one with you." Fiona pleaded with Levi.

"Neeeighhh!" The black stallion emitted a long cry and cocked his head in a human-like manner; he seemed to be mocking her.

Fiona's face reddened.

"Fine, get up."

Even though he was utterly annoyed, Levi conceded anyway. They were already way behind schedule, he didn't have time to play house with her.

"R-really?" Fiona's head flew up, her violet-coloured orbs were fraught with surprise.

"Get up before I change my mind," Levi's voice was lowered by a tone.

"Okay," Fiona hurriedly scurried towards Levi, but even with Levi already saddled upon it, Fiona found much difficulty in trying to climb up the horse. After a few failed attempts to mount herself, Fiona let out a cry of surprise when Levi roughly grabbed her by the back of her cloak and gracelessly settled her down in front of him. Not giving her time to regain her balance, Levi cracked the reins and the horse set off after emitting a short, sharp neigh.

Instinctively, Fiona grabbed Levi's shirt in fear of being thrown off the horse. Displeasure surfaced on Levi's face, and he said, "Let go."

"N-no, I'd fall!" Fiona refused, voice quivering.

"I assure you that if you don't let go of my clothes at this very moment, you'd land face down to the ground immediately."

The threat sank in and Fiona flinched. Though reluctant, Fiona obediently released her grip on Levi's shirt. To her surprise… she felt that horse-riding wasn't as scary as she imagined it to be. While she felt a little unsteady, she was more or less comfortably on the horse, and she rather enjoyed the wind running through her hair.

Maybe she really was Fiona Strauss? She had heard that horses were the primary mode of transport for the members of the Recons Corps. Or maybe it was because she was riding the same horse as this man. Even though he was intimidating, it was precisely the power he emanated that made him feel like a reliable person.

As Fiona's thoughts strayed off, she unknowingly ended up at an unfamiliar medieval castle. Levi rode right into the stable of the castle, where he carelessly picked her up and threw her onto the floor.

Unsurprisingly, Fiona had a clumsy landing. Levi himself dismounted like an aristocrat.

Fiona dared not complain.

"Take your stuffs, I'll show you to your room."

After climbing a few spiral stairs and walking down some deserted corridors, Levi stopped in front of one of the many identical doors and pushed it open.

For a room in a castle of such age, Fiona thought that the room was almost too clean.

(If only if she knew about Levi's cleanliness complex.)

"This will be your room, my room is the second room to your right. If you have any queries or remember anything, you should come to me. However I'd prefer _not_ to be disturbed. I do not run a shelter and take in useless people; since you're living here, you'd have to contribute by helping to clean and cook. In a week's time, you'll be required to revise how to control your 3DMG. For tonight, rest."

After throwing down a list of commands and some basic house rules for Fiona to digest, Levi left swiftly.

It took Fiona two blinks before she completely registered Levi's words in her mind. Biting on her lower lip, Fiona looked down at the floor.

So this was it, her new home? It was a little… different from what she had expected. She idly wondered if she was going to stay here for long, but she soon shook the thought off.

Regardless of the length of her stay, it didn't matter, did it? After all, she had no recollection of her past whatsoever, and what she had learned about herself so far were fragments told by others.

She felt out of place here, like a man deserted in a foreign land. But then again… if not here, where did she belong, right?


	3. II

**Saviour**

* * *

**II**

* * *

On the next day, Levi's squad was introduced to their new housemate over breakfast.

"Fiona Strauss, squad leader from the Survey Corps. From now on, she will be living with us," said Levi, "Jaeger, Ackerman, Arlert, Reiss, Kirstein, Springer, Blouse." With each name he recited, Levi pointed to the corresponding person, and finally at the end he turned back to Mikasa. "Ackerman, she will be sharing your duty slot."

"Yes, captain," Mikasa nodded, glancing at the woman whom they rescued. Upon seeing that Fiona was also looking at her, Mikasa offered a small smile which the former returned.

… _Strange, she didn't seem like a squad leader, _thought Mikasa, but she picked up her cup and decided to reserve her doubts for herself.

"Captain? Can I ask why is she staying with us?" Eren asked carefully; unmitigated curiosity reflected in his eyes. It couldn't be that she was sent in to help restrain him in case he went rampant again… right? He was in much better control of his Titan power as compared to the past.

"Why do you need to know that, brat?" Levi glanced at Eren from the corner of his eyes.

"Umm, I was wondering how should we treat her – is she a squad mate now? Or do we refer to her as Squad Leader?" Eren stammered, making up some lame excuses which he immediately regretted using. Gulping, Eren stole a look at Levi only to find his captain looking at him with an irritated expression.

_Plonk._ Eren's heart sank.

He was going to be struck down by Captain Levi again for sure! Eren closed his eyes and braced himself for the anticipated impact – which surprisingly never came.

"Strauss is suffering from post-trauma amnesia," Levi propped up his chin and revealed Fiona's situation in a flat tone, "Her duties have been suspended at the moment so you need not refer to her as Squad Leader, but if you choose so then so be it. Whether she recovers or not she will _not _be joining the Special Operation Squad. There's no need to treat her differently; just like the rest of you, she's a soldier."

Historia's eyes widened and she sneaked a worried glance at Fiona who – much to Historia's surprise – seemed completely unbothered by Levi's blunt words in front of her.

"Eh!?" Eren's head jerked up violently. When he saw his captain furrowing his eyebrows even deeper, the young man quickly said, "Roger that, captain! And uhh, hello, Squad Leader Strauss." Eren waved to Fiona when he saw her looking at her. Compassion swelled up in his eyes when he saw the innocent – but really, it was_ blank_ – look in her eyes, which was concrete proof that she had no recollection of her past.

"Hello, Jaeger. You can refer to me as Fiona," Fiona smiled. Not that she wanted to appear close or anything, it was just that _even_ her given name Fiona sounded alien to her; much less an honourable title like Squad Leader Strauss. "Actually… I'd like it if everyone could call me Fiona."

"Oh, alright, Fiona," Eren scratched his head, a strange feeling in his chest. He felt like he was breaking military rules by referring to someone of a higher rank by her first name. "I'm Eren, Eren Jaeger. You can call me Eren."

"Eren," said Fiona softly, and the room fell into unprecedented silence.

It was Levi who ultimately broke the silence. The black-haired captain turned his head and spoke, laying down an order on Connie whose consciousness was enjoying a very nice stroll in outer space.

"Springer, it's your duty today. Show her around the castle and instruct her on what to do."

"Ah – y-yes, captain!" Connie spontaneously jumped up from his seat and saluted. When Connie realized what he had done, he stood there and blinked awkwardly.

Levi swallowed a sigh and cast his eyes away. Fools. All of them.

"Dude, you're too uptight!" Jean pat Connie's back and helped him to settle down once more. Embarrassed, Connie resumed sitting and buried his face in his food.

After breakfast, Levi vanished in his own room while the rest of his squad exchanged greetings with Fiona before going about on their own things. Connie accompanied Fiona on a tour of the castle before settling down to do his chores.

Cleaning, in the residence of Levi's unit, had always been a tedious affair. Serving under an impartial captain – who was obsessed with cleanliness – like Levi meant that nobody was going to get any special treatment when it came to cleaning; not Eren, not any of the girls, not even Levi himself.

In fact, on the very same day the new Special Operation Squad was formed, Levi churned out a duty roster for the people residing in the ex-Recons Corps Headquarter.

Sunday: Levi Ackerman

Monday: Eren Jaeger

Tuesday: Connie Springer

Wednesday: Sasha Blouse and Historia Reiss

Thursday: Jean Kirstein

Friday: Mikasa Ackerman

Saturday: Armin Arlert

On each day, the person or people on duty would be in charge of cleaning the common rooms, preparing the meals and weeding the garden. Aside from the daily cleaning, Levi also arranged for a spring cleaning of the whole castle once every two weeks – the vacant rooms weren't exempted from the fortnightly operation.

While Fiona didn't remember anything about how the world was (or _should be_) like, her gut feeling substituted for common sense and told her that scrubbing the handrails of the central stairs to the point that it literally shone _without _light falling on it and pulling out even the tiniest bud of a weed which had barely sprouted two miserable leaves were by no means normal.

Still, house rules were house rules. She wasn't the only one living under the same roof as Levi, why should she be an exception?

"When you sweep the floor, make sure not to leave even the tiniest speck of dust behind," Connie told her, "I'm speaking from experience. Captain has an eye for detail, if he catches any mistakes, you'd be out sprinting in the field the whole morning next day or if you're Sasha, you'd be denied of dinner for that day."

"Sasha? Is she the one who was sitting at the edge of the table?" The image of the brown-haired girl who was stuffing her face with bread automatically surfaced in Fiona's mind.

She seemed like she had a really good appetite.

"That's her," Connie nodded solemnly, "A word of advice: don't leave your food unattended to around Sasha. She'd gobble it down and I'm not even exaggerating!" Connie shook his head at the memory of Sasha's voracious appetite. But looking on the bright side… at least she wasn't a picky eater.

(Though he sort of wished at some point in time that she was a little picky even if just a little.)

"I'll take note of it," Fiona nodded gratefully. She didn't doubt in the least bit that Sasha would devour anything in sight. She sure seemed like she could do it considering what she saw during breakfast.

Grinning, Connie led her through the back gates and into the gardens.

"We mostly grow plants with herbal values in the garden," Connie picked up a watering can as he explained, "Cayenne peppers are really good for bleeding, yarrows also help with bleeding and alleviate respiratory problems, garlic treats fatigue. Other than that, we also grow some vegetables to feed ourselves. Each plant requires a different amount of water, if you're unsure, just ask Mikasa. These plants are extremely valuable to us." Resources were scarce within the walls.

"Okay."

Connie continued watering the plants and introducing them while he was at that. When he was done, Connie checked the time and hurriedly pulled Fiona into the kitchen.

"It's almost lunch time now and I have to prepare the meal, just sit aside and watch. Try to familiarize yourself with the equipment in the kitchen, but don't fret over it if you can't, I know it's not easy," Connie smiled encouragingly before he dived into his task.

Fiona stood quietly aside and watched as Connie busied himself.

She looked down on the floor, and a warm feeling sprouted at the base of her heart.

This place and its inhabitants… they didn't seem so bad after all.

**~x~**

"Erwin, if you're going to summon me every alternate day to ask me about her progress, I suggest you take her directly under your wings," said Levi as he threw his cloak on the nearby coat stand and seated himself across of Commander Erwin.

"You know there's no safer place within the walls than with you, Levi," Erwin shook his head, amused.

"I fail to see what harm may befall a person who's being watched over by the Central Authority," said Levi sharply. _Who _would be foolish enough to lay their hands on someone the Central Authority had need of?

"We do not know if there are still traitors within us, Levi," Erwin replied, his words sounded heavy even though he was smiling. "Ymir was no ally of the Female Titan and her comrades but her existence raised the alarm for us – there may be other people amongst us who are like Eren Jaeger. Even within Wall Rose, safety can't be guaranteed. There's a reason why when you chose to create a new Special Operation Squad with the remaining Top 10 of the 104th Trainees Squad, General Zackly first expressed concern regarding your decision before conceding."

"He knows that I'm the only one capable of keeping a Titan Shifter under control should one appear," Levi muttered, not sounding particularly arrogant despite being acutely aware of his exemplary records.

Erwin nodded, "Therefore, Levi, with your life, please guard Eren Jaeger, Historia Reiss and Fiona Strauss too."

"… Are you planning to leave her in my custody even after she recovers her memory?" Levi frowned, Erwin sounded too suspicious for him to not be alerted. "I will not agree to it. There's a limit to my patience, Erwin."

_Sharp as always, Levi._ Erwin laughed, "What do you think, Captain Levi?"

"Knowing you, Erwin, if she were useless you'd throw her out to the Titans without batting your eyelashes," Levi brushed imaginary dirt from the cuffs of his shirt, "So no. You wouldn't."

Erwin nodded, unashamed to admit his apathy towards a human life, "If she weren't Fiona Strauss; daughter of the late Frederick Strauss; perhaps I'd have done just that. But Levi, the Survey Corps own its existence to her late father. Callous as I am, Levi, I have yet to forsake my moral principles completely. Besides, Fiona herself is an excellent soldier. She'd be a valuable addition to your squad."

"I don't reckon she'd want to work alongside me if she happens to recover. Don't forget she practically hated me back then, not that the feeling wasn't mutual."

"You should know by now, Levi, that Fiona always has her eyes on the big picture. If she doesn't, she wouldn't have joined the Recons Corps."

That silenced Levi.

Erwin took a sip of his tea, waiting for Levi to make up his mind. He was well aware what'd be Levi's reply.

A few moments passed by, and Levi finally stood up.

"Tch, whatever. I'm going," Levi grabbed his cloak and headed for the door, not sparing Erwin a second look across his shoulders.

Erwin stared at Levi's retreating figure, and calmly took another sip, contented that the objective of the meeting was met.

_Somehow_, Erwin smiled to himself, even the tea tasted a little better.


End file.
